Originally posted by Ultim8pc Sorry - Intel P4 based are best - definately the easiest to get going AND the most stable & reliable!!
SB75 I reckon....

That's true. Intel chipsets and intel mobos are the most stable things ive ever used. However its uber expensive as are the CPUS. You can pop in an XP2500/2400 for what.. £65?ish and an SN45G is only 170odd.

I dont like sig pics so i turn off sigs Which doesnt help when i dont know what ive written here! DOH!

Bindi:
True, but depends what you are looking for:
Intel:Cooler running and stability - more expensive.
Or
AMD:Hotter running and less stability - cheaper.

A few years back I had several AMD systems - they outperformed equivalent Intel systems, but they were just never stable. That situation has not changed (IMHO) even thought the chipsets for AMD chipsets have improved...

I agree, in general perhaps AMD have less stability but you couple an intel chip with anything other than an intel chipset and you wont get SFA ocing or stability. I own an intel/intel system and ill only go back to AMD thru cost cause i can throw stones at it and it wont crash. Now an SN85G4 would be nice, and faster, but will also cost ur arm, leg, a lung and a kidney.. and probably ur mother before you can afford one.

Ive no experience with AMD chips for a while, but chip:chip id hazard a guess there isnt much diff in the temperature dept.

I personally would choose the AMD route ... cheaper and with the NForce2 chipset on its got all the features of a board crammed with PCI cards, lol!

In answer to Bruno - Yes, some cards (like early FXs) will not fit and there has been heat problems although Ive never seen a stock card have problems although if you are not sure ... you could add a blow hole very easily (either put the fan on the outside or no fan at all)!

I would go intel, thats what i have in my system( its a tower), there more stable that AMD's imo, and they do run cooler! They are more robust, harder to break. Also if temperatures did get to high within that shuttle box, the thermal throttling would slow the CPU down to prevent damage! hope this is of help!